Reaching Readers for Reading Rainbow

Independent Publishers Group is distributing LeVar Burton’s first children’s book, The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm. Created by Burton, longtime host of the children’s program “Reading Rainbow,” with Susan Schaefer Bernardo and illustrator Courtenay Fletcher, the title is being published by Reading Rainbow, a brand now owned by Burton and a partner.

The Case of Silver Anniversary

Poisoned Pen Press founders Barbara Peters and Robert Rosenwald celebrated the 25th anniversary of their Poisoned Pen bookstore in September. The store, which mystery lovers and Arizona media call “a landmark,” opened in 1989 in the historic center of sunny Scottsdale. It attracts both hometown readers and tourists, and its success led to the establishment of the Press.

As bookstore owners, Peters and Rosenwald grew discouraged because so many quality titles quickly went out of print. After a few years Rosenwald set up the Press across the street from the bookstore to meet market demand for these titles.

Our Editor Wins an Industry Award

As noted in “Director’s Desk,” Judith Appelbaum, the managing director of Sensible Solutions, Inc., and the editor of the Independent, was honored with a Book Industry Study Group Lifetime Service Award at BISG’s annual meeting in September.

Appelbaum, the author of How to Get Happily Published, has been an active BISG member since its early days and she has also been active in IBPA for decades. Previously a member of this group’s board, she received its 1995 Benjamin Franklin Achievement Award, and she has edited its monthly publication since mid-2001.

Airtime

Parenting Press author Eileen Kennedy- Moore and a Working Mother magazine editor, Bettina Bush, were interviewed on the Kathie Lee and Hoda segment of The Today Show in September (which can be seen here). Kennedy-Moore—a clinical psychologist whose titles include the children’s picture book What About Me? 12 Ways to Get Your Parents’ Attention (Without Hitting Your Sister)—discussed the positive and negative impacts of giving kids labels such as “she’s the smart one” and “he’s our athlete.” The appearance followed her interview for a Working Mother feature, “Don’t Label My Kid,” archived at www.workingmother.com

Chicago Review Press’s Outsider Baseball was featured on WAMC, Northeast Public Radio, when author Scott Simkus was interviewed in August.

Ink

A Publishers Weekly summer feature, “Courting New Enthusiasts for Classic Pastimes,” described new titles from many independent publishers, including IBPA member Martingale. “Both the yarn and fabric categories are trending up in audiences with more, younger crafters emerging in quilting, knitting, and crocheting,” Martingale publisher Jennifer Keitner told PW.

PW’s feature story, “Fall Regionals 2014: A Time for Discovery,” cited Yamma Brown, daughter of James Brown and author of Chicago Review Press’s Cold Sweat, for visiting regional shows as part of the “We-Need-Diverse-books” campaign.

Poisoned Pen received a starred review for Sons of Sparta: A Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger, which PW said, “… paints travelogueworthy pictures of a breathtakingly beautiful— if politically corrupt—Greece.”

The Huffington Post had an update in September on Really Big Coloring Books, which has revised its anti-terrorism coloring books, We Shall Never Forget 9/11: The Kids’ Book of Freedom and The True Faces of Evil Terror (with trading cards).The new pages include an introduction to the militant Islamic State group known as ISIS.

A Trafalgar Square title, Viking Knits & Ancient Ornaments: Interlace Patterns from Around the World in Modern Knitwear, by Elsebeth Lavold and Anders Rydell received a starred review Library Journal.

Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick, written by Alexandra Watkins and published by Berrett-Koehler, also recently received a starred LJ review.

Other members’ titles recently reviewed by Library Journal include:

Two from Poisoned Pen— Deeper Than the Grave, by Tina Whittle, and A Risky
Undertaking, by Mark De Castrique;

Two from Linden—Handmade Furniture: 21 Classic Woodworking Projects To Build for Your Home, by Rafael Nathan, and The Creative Woodturner: Inspiring Ideas and Projects for Developing Your Own Woodturning Style, by Terry Martin;

Three from Chicago Review Press—Judy Garland on Judy Garland: Interviews and Encounters, by Randy L. Schmidt; La Belle Créole: The Cuban Countess Who Captivated Havana, Madrid, and Paris, by Alina García-Lapuerta; and So You Want to Start A Brewery, by Tony Magee;

She Writes’ Say It Out Loud: Revealing and Healing the Scars of Sexual Abuse, by Roberta Dolan;

Two from Demos Health—Pilates for Breast Cancer Survivors: A Guide to Recovery, Healing, and Wellness, by Naomi Aaronson and Ann Marie Turo; and Get the Behavior You Want … Without Being the Parent You Hate, by Deborah Gilboa;

The French Executioner, by C.C. Humphreys and The Magician’s Lie, by Greer Macallister, both from Sourcebooks Landmark;

Three from Chelsea Green—Carbon Shock: A Tale of Risk and Calculus on the Front Lines of a Disrupted Global Economy, by Mark Schapiro; Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation: Simple to Advanced and Experimental Techniques for Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation, by Tradd Cotter; and The Heal Your Gut Cookbook: Nutrient-Dense Recipes for Intestinal Health Using the GAPS Diet, by Hilary Boynton and Mary G. Brackett

Linda Carlson (linda@ibpa-online.org) writes for the Independent from Seattle. She welcomes your information about media coups, special sales and rights sales.